This invention relates to apparatus for conveying and guiding exposed strip-form printing paper into an automatic developing machine for sheet-like printing paper, which apparatus cuts the exposed strip-form printing paper into sheets and guides the resulting sheets of exposed printing paper into the automatic developing machine after sequentially and alternately sorting the sheets of printing paper.
In order to perform the exposure and developing treatments of a large quantity of printing paper, it is generally suitable to employ a method which comprises exposing an elongated strip or belt of printing paper by a printer, rolling up the exposed printing paper, developing the roll of the printing paper by an automatic developing machine adapted for developing rolls of printing paper and then cutting the developed printing paper by a cutter. However, a satisfactory method for exposing and developing small quantities of strip-form printing paper has not yet been provided, because a large quantity of the printing paper, as much as several tens of centimeters, or sometimes several meters at times, is wasted whenever the printing paper is intermittently treated in accordance with the abovementioned method. As a method of treating strip-form printing paper on a relatively limited scale, depending on the size of the order, a method is known in which the strip-form printing paper, after exposure by a printer, is uct into sheets before it is introduced into the developing machine. Each of the resulting printing paper sheets is then introduced into an automatic developing machine so as thereby to avoid the developing treatment of the unnecessary printing paper.
This method, however, is not suitable for the exposure and developing treatments of a large quantity of strip-form printing paper for the following reason. Namely, since the treating speed of the printer is greater than that of the developing machine, it is essentially necessary to operate the apparatus so that the intervals at which sheets of exposed printing paper are introduced into the automatic developing machine, i.e., the interval of time between the feeding of one sheet of printing paper and the feeding of the next sheet of printing paper, are relatively long. For example, a method of reducing the feeding interval of the sheets of printing paper is known in order to improve the treating capacity. In this case, the printing paper tends to jam inside an automatic developing machine of the type adapted for developing sheets of printing paper and thus causes operating troubles of the machine. For this reason, this method is not suited for developing a large quantity of strip-form printing paper. It is also known to increase the treating speed of the developing machine. However, in this case, the developing machine must be of large size, thereby involving increased installation cost.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for guiding sheets of printing paper, which apparatus makes it possible to perform the exposure and developing treatments starting with strip-form printing paper and to produce developed sheets in a great quantity or in a limited quantity, depending on the size of the order.
The object of the present invention can be accomplished by apparatus which cuts the strip-form printing paper, after it has been exposed by a printer, into sheets before introducing the printing paper into the developing machine, continuously and alternately sorting these printing paper sheets sequentially and guiding them into an automatic developing machine of the type adapted for developing printing paper sheets.
Namely, the apparatus for guiding and conveying the sheets of printing paper, in accordance with the present invention, comprises cutting means for cutting the exposed strip-form printing paper into sheets, sorting means for sorting the resulting sheets of printing paper conveyed along one feed path into at least two separate passages and conveying and guiding the sheets of printing paper along these separate passages, reversing means for reversing each sheet of printing paper so that its exposed surface faces upwardly, and conveyor means for sequentially changing the conveying direction of the sheets of printing paper, whose exposed surface are facing upwardly, along said separate passages and conveying and guiding them into an automatic developing machine for the sheets of printing paper. In the apparatus of the present invention, the sheets of printing paper, cut into sheet form after exposure, may be conveyed either in the sequence of (1) the sorting means, (2) the reversing means and (3) the conveyor means or in the sequence of (1) the reversing means, (2) the sorting means and (3) the conveyor means.
The present invention will be explained in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.